A Welsh music map
Post categories: Radio
| 15:19 UK time, Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Our stand-in editor is coming up to Wrexham to meet those of us who work on the music show this Thursday. He's keen for the station to support new Welsh music as best it can. He's particularly keen that communities throughout Wales are represented and engaged by the station.
I thought it would be an interesting exercise to audit the geographical sources of the music I have played on my show. So, that illustrates the rough locations of where each artist that I have played in November originates.
I thought it would be an interesting exercise to audit the geographical sources of the music I have played on my show. So, that illustrates the rough locations of where each artist that I have played in November originates.
Each artist is only represented once. The different coloured tabs represent different shows.
Some of the artist's locations are an educated guess: I know Ellie Goulding, for example, has roots in Powys, but I don't know exactly where in Powys.
Also, many musicians gravitate eventually to Cardiff, two very notable examples being Gruff Rhys and Cate Le Bon. I've chosen to show where they came from originally because the fact that they have moved doesn't disqualify them from being members of the communities they grew up in.
Remember, this is only a month's worth of programmes.
As could be predicted, Cardiff has a high concentration of the artists I have supported on the show. This is mostly to do with demographics; there are just more people - young people likely to be making music - in Cardiff.
The most notable blind spot is mid Wales. I haven't played anyone from that part of Wales. I'd love to hear from more bands in the Newtown/Welshpool and Llanidloes areas.
They'll still need to be good. I'm not about to surrender the show to tokenism.
Ironically, as I was plodding my way through this rather laborious task, an e-mail arrived that I've reproduced below:
Name: Stu
Location: Swansea
Comments: I'm a regular listener to the Adam Walton show and am disappointed that bands from my area Swansea don't get that much air time. 70% from North Wales and Cardiff.
. But I have no bias. I promise you that. Much of the music that I have loved the most since I started this show has come from Swansea/Neath and Resolven: The Pooh Sticks, Helen Love, The Caves, El Goodo, The Keys, Chavboy, The Arteries.
If you're reading this and you feel the show isn't supporting your patch of Wales, get in touch and send me your music, or your mates' music. That is the only way to address this.
I just want to hear thrilling new music. I don't give a lost plectrum for where it comes from.
Don't wait for me to find you. We're in a small country, but there are plenty of excellent musicians and artists who are proactive about getting their music to me.
Send high quality .mp3s with a short biography and contact number to themysterytour@gmail.com. Ìý ÌýÌýÌýÌý
Some of the artist's locations are an educated guess: I know Ellie Goulding, for example, has roots in Powys, but I don't know exactly where in Powys.
Also, many musicians gravitate eventually to Cardiff, two very notable examples being Gruff Rhys and Cate Le Bon. I've chosen to show where they came from originally because the fact that they have moved doesn't disqualify them from being members of the communities they grew up in.
Remember, this is only a month's worth of programmes.
As could be predicted, Cardiff has a high concentration of the artists I have supported on the show. This is mostly to do with demographics; there are just more people - young people likely to be making music - in Cardiff.
The most notable blind spot is mid Wales. I haven't played anyone from that part of Wales. I'd love to hear from more bands in the Newtown/Welshpool and Llanidloes areas.
They'll still need to be good. I'm not about to surrender the show to tokenism.
Ironically, as I was plodding my way through this rather laborious task, an e-mail arrived that I've reproduced below:
Name: Stu
Location: Swansea
Comments: I'm a regular listener to the Adam Walton show and am disappointed that bands from my area Swansea don't get that much air time. 70% from North Wales and Cardiff.
. But I have no bias. I promise you that. Much of the music that I have loved the most since I started this show has come from Swansea/Neath and Resolven: The Pooh Sticks, Helen Love, The Caves, El Goodo, The Keys, Chavboy, The Arteries.
If you're reading this and you feel the show isn't supporting your patch of Wales, get in touch and send me your music, or your mates' music. That is the only way to address this.
I just want to hear thrilling new music. I don't give a lost plectrum for where it comes from.
Don't wait for me to find you. We're in a small country, but there are plenty of excellent musicians and artists who are proactive about getting their music to me.
Send high quality .mp3s with a short biography and contact number to themysterytour@gmail.com. Ìý ÌýÌýÌýÌý
Adam Walton
Bethan Elfyn
James McLaren
Laura Sinnerton
Comment number 1.
At 1st Dec 2009, Joe wrote:Oh my, you've been busy! Nice map Adam - looks good.
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Comment number 2.
At 1st Dec 2009, Peter D Cox wrote:Great piece of work and fascinated to see who lives nearby in Cardiff: Soft Hearted Scientists are locked up in the Crown Court; Solutions in Cardiff Castle (there's posh); Avash Avash in the old Arms Park; and Death of Her Money is definitely floating down the Taff seawards.
No doubt others will find equally amusing approximations.
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Comment number 3.
At 1st Dec 2009, Adam Walton wrote:Ha! There's absolutely no geographical accuracy once you get down to city-level... nor is there meant to be.
Zoom out, look at Wales as a whole, get a quick snapshot of where the music is coming from. That's the point of the exercise.
I can't imagine that plotting people's accurate addresses on a map would have earned me much in the way of trust from Wales' musicians.
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